Why street photography is facing a moment of truth

Sean O’Hagan on the thriving art of street photography in the surveillance age

via the Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2010/apr/18/street-photography-privacy-surveillance

It took root in New York in the 60s and 70s with compelling images of street life that captured the heart of the city. But anxieties about privacy, terrorism, and paedophilia have conspired to make the art of street photography ever more difficult. Sean O’Hagan recalls the movement’s heyday and charts today’s pioneers